By now, you’ve probably accumulated reams of colorful political pamphlets with a laundry list of reasons to vote for a candidate or issue.

Then there’s the small, sterile white slip marked with an insignia from the benevolent-sounding nonprofit Center for Voter Information. Rip the perforated edges and you’ll find what some recipients have called online a “vaguely threatening” message in bold: “Remember, who you vote for is private, but whether or not you voted is public record.”

The letters also list your name, address and voting participation history since 2016. Supposedly, your neighbor’s information is also included below, though their names and street numbers are redacted. A sister organization called the Voter Participation Center has sent similar letters.

The letters pour in as more than a million Marylanders are casting ballots through in-person early voting and mail. Voters in at least Anne Arundel County, Baltimore, Baltimore County and Montgomery County have reported receiving the letters.

If you haven’t voted yet, the organization’s board chair Gail L. Kitch, who signed off on the letter, says his group is watching you.

“We will be reviewing these records after the election to determine whether or not you joined your neighbors in voting,” the letter reads.

Should you be worried? Here’s what you need to know.

What is the Center for Voter Information/Voter Participation Center?

The Washington-based groups, founded in 2003, use mailers and other marketing tools to improve voter turnout, said Tom Lopach, the president and CEO of the Center for Voter Information and the Voter Participation Center. These groups have since helped over six million people sign up and cast ballots, he said.

The groups are also nonpartisan, according to their websites, but Lopach and founder Page Gardner have been linked to the Democratic Party through former positions as Democratic strategists. The organizations also poured over $47,000 into promoting President Joe Biden’s 2020 bid, ProPublica reported.

During the last presidential election season, the groups were criticized for sowing confusion among voters through error-ridden letters. CVI mailed 2.25 million applications for absentee ballots to Virginia voters around that time, and about a quarter of them had a return envelope labeled with the wrong election office, the group previously told The Washington Post. This stoked fears from voters who thought they were targets of election fraud.

Why are these organizations sending letters?

Recent polling data shows the presidential race between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris is neck and neck, and many voting advocacy groups are trying to squeeze any remaining votes.

The letters are part of the groups’ efforts to bolster voting participation, Lopach said. He is particularly concerned about the millions of eligible but unregistered voters who cycle through each election season and hopes these letters can help bridge this gap.

VPC has sent mailers to unmarried women, people of color and young people, while CVI has covered the rest of the population. So far this election season, the two groups have sent 113 million “get-out-the-vote” letters, Lopach said. In Maryland, the groups have sent residents a combined 3.5 million letters. Lopach said they are not targeting voters in any particular political party.

“It’s a guilt trip,” said Andrew Perrin, a sociology professor at the Johns Hopkins University. “But honestly, if you find it that threatening that someone might reveal that you didn’t vote, well, maybe you should just vote.”

How do groups like this acquire your voting participation history?

Anyone can submit an application to purchase Maryland’s list of registered voters for just $125. This list and an online voter lookup tool show your voting participation history. These resources also reveal your name, address, date of birth, sex and party affiliation. They do not show your voting decisions or other sensitive information.

This information cannot be used for purposes unrelated to the electoral process, according to the State Board of Elections website.

What do these groups plan to do with your information?

People who do not vote by Election Day will be dinged by a system that generates a voter turnout score, Lopach said. “And what that means for us is you’ll probably get more mail.” The groups have sent particularly stubborn people four to seven mailers before they finally voted, he said.

Lopach also said they do not plan to send detailed voting participation information to friends, neighbors or family members of nonvoters after Election Day.

Are these mailers illegal?

People online have been turned off by the letters and say they find them intimidating. Intimidation or coercion in any part of the voting process is illegal, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Late Thursday, state Attorney General Anthony G. Brown sent the nonprofits a cease and desist letter stating that the companies’ “[threats] to publicly expose those voters who do not vote” violated state and federal laws. The actions by the nonprofits, Brown wrote, were an intimidation tactic that attempted to influence voting choice and methods.

Brown ordered the groups to respond with a statement of intent to stop sending these letters by 5 p.m. Friday, or face legal action.

Perrin, though, says these letters aren’t quite coercive or intimidating. “The threat of taking public information and repackaging a little bit, that doesn’t strike me as really problematic or threatening in any way.”

“I appreciate that some people may find the letters off-putting,” Lopach said. “All I would say is they should get out and vote, be sure their voices are heard and simply recycle the letters.”

Is this strategy effective?

Over the past decades, CVI and VPC have utilized many marketing campaigns including calls and other mailers about voting deadlines. However, the organizations have found that letters with sterner — scold-y, even — language are better at coaxing out voters, Lopach said.

That’s because shame is a good way to prompt someone to vote, Perrin said.

“It’s pretty well settled that if you think your neighbors are voting, you’re more likely to do so yourself,” he said. “This mild shame approach might be effective in reminding people that their neighbors, colleagues and friends are voting and that they would be left out if they’re not.”